Just the Facts :: Who Is Family Now?

Who Is Family Now?

Mixed-race couples, single parents, unmarried couples raising children, divorces—they’re increasingly part of the new “normal.”

The Recession Has Changed Families

The recession that started in 2008 accelerated trends that were already developing. Young people at the start of their careers are having a hard time making ends meet. And 63 percent of workers ages 50 to 61 say the recession means they’ll put off retirement.

One Income Can't Pay the Bills Anymore

As recently as 1980, a family of three could get by on the income of one parent—as long as that parent was male. Now that income won’t even cover the average family’s expenditures, let alone the things we’ve come to associate with a middle-class life, such as adequate housing or paying for a child’s college education.

U.S. Census Bureau, “,” 2009. Table MS-1, Marital Status of the Population 15 years Old and Over, by Sex and Race: 1950 to Present.

U.S. Census Bureau, “,” 2009. Table CH-1, Living Arrangements of Children Under 18 Years Old: 1960 to Present.

Pew Research Center, “.” November 24, 2009.

Pew Research Center, “.” September 3, 2009.

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NOTE: Expenditure data were unavailable between 1961 and 1971, and between 1973 and 1980. Because the consumer unit size was 3.2 people in 1960, and 2.9 in 1972, the average annual consumer unit expenditures from 1960 and 1972 were used to represent expenditures for a 3-person household. Available data were connected linearly for the graphic.